Yang's Favourite Thing #12 - Sumikko gurashi

For certain parts of my childhood, I embraced Sumikko gurashi, the Japanese phrase for "Corner living". And the following reasons contributed to it:

As a leftyWhen I first held a pencil with my left hand, I was asked to switch it to my right hand instead. Somehow, writing using my right hand meant slow and jagged ABCs, which further meant lesser playtime with Julie 姐姐 next door... *frowned*. So when she, my mom, got busy with laundry or preparing dinner in the kitchen, I sneakily switched the pencil back to my left hand and completed my ABCs umizoomi-fast. After being caught a couple of times, my once persistent mom decided not to be insistent.

So that marked the birth of Lefty Yang. As the only lefty in the family, Yang felt different.

As a bespectacled preschoolerInto my 2nd year in Kindergarten, I started wearing a pair of plastic spectacles. As you could see from the class photo below (not very clear though), I was the only girl with a pair of spectacles (just spotted another boy with a pair of spectacles bigger than mine). Yes, that girl at the top row, right corner. That pair of spectacles couldn't sit still (as I don't have a nose bridge) and some grease or sweat would send it slipping down to the tip of my nose. When my hands were full or being plain lazy, I would twitch my nose in an effort to get it back into position. Managed to kick off the bad habit eventually, after my mom told me how ugly I looked whenever I did that.

As a bespectacled preschooler, Yang felt different, and burdened.

Bespectacled Yang in Kindergarten

As the slowest in classI had a problem of being the s-l-o-w-e-s-t in class, during my preschool days. Musical chair games always left me and another boy (second to me in terms of slowness) stranded and panicky. When everyone else had finished their year-end papers and were happily sipping their cup of hot milo, I would still be clutching my pencil nervously, trying to complete as much as I could before the teacher stopped me.

As the slowest in class, Yang felt different, and inferior.

As a bunny-teeth girlWhen my upper lateral incisors got shaky, I feared visiting the "fierce" dentist in school and so I kept it from my mom. By the time they could hold no longer, the permanent teeth had already sprouted out behind, in the dark, and so I became a bunny-teeth girl. Not a case of central incisors growing in front of its peers but a case of lateral incisors lagging behind the rest. I became camera-shy and gradually smiled without revealing my teeth, or stopped smiling totally i.e. maintained a poker face.

As the only one with bunny teeth amongst my siblings, Yang felt different, and ugly.

Throughout my school life, there were years when I forgot about Sumikko gurashi, in the company of great friends. But whenever I felt different and inadequate, I sought security in it, hoping to be unnoticed and forgotten by the world. However, like 小寒's 孤独患者, when alone in that corner, I constantly wrestled with an internal conflict whether to step out, bravely, or stay in, sheepishly(I hope I didn't interpret the meaning of the lyrics wrongly).

Today, I have grown to know there are many other lefties around me. My eyesight has worsened to the stage that I could only see colors and an aura emanating from every blurred object or being (those with high astigmatism will get what I mean) without my thick pair of glasses, but I could hide them away with contact lenses. Still s-l-o-w, but I'm no longer the slowest. Hahaa... And with the magic of orthodontic treatment, I have two neat rows of teeth now (even if I hadn't sought orthodontic treatment, I know that kawaii Japanese girls don't usually have straight teeth too. Lol).

While I could proudly say I have very much walked out of Sumikko gurashi, I still enjoy the comfort I get by hiding in my own secret corner, occasionally.

My first San-X Sumikko gurashi possession was a plastic folder, to file some important documents. I didn't know anything about these San-X characters then. Just thought they looked gentle in pastel colors, puffy and adorable.

As they became more prevalent in novelty stores, I got curious and one fine day, I chanced upon the translations of the individual interesting personalities in quirky - a guide to San-X and characters, by Lissa (check out her translations for other San-X characters!) Learnt they were released in Sep 2012, which made them virgos, like 小雨 and me。

I'm fair and always cold like Shirokuma the white bear, lacks confidence (used to!) like Pengin? the penguin?, as shy as (used to!) Neko the cat, gets left behind (for being slow) like Tapioka the tapioca, but has a dream like Zassou the weed.

Other than a plastic folder, I now own a Sumikko gurashi 3-in-1 lunchbox, a small pair of porcelain fork and spoon, a cup, a HB pencil, a Pengin? mechanical pencil, a notepad and a notebook. O my, I have to say this is the first collection of a character, Japanese or Disney, in my life. I'm someone who doesn't spend on such stuff, not until I got hooked on this San-X character.

Sumikko gurashi 3-in-1 lunchbox

Sumikko gurashi 3-in-1 lunchbox, separated

Sumikko gurashi fork & spoon set

Sumikko gurashi cup

Sumikko gurashi HB pencil

Pengin? the Penguin? mechanical pencil & Sumikko gurashi notebook

Sumikko gurashi notepad

No, I'm not advocating "Corner living"but these San-X characters are so representative of some parts of my childhood that I find a compelling need to make them one of my Favourite Things, naturally.

They simply remind me of the Yang I used to be. And I still love her, more than ever.